RPM: Hope
by thunderyoshi
Summary: It's been a few months since the Battle of Corinth, and finally there's a moment of peace.


**Merry Christmas and happy holidays!  
**

 **I decided to write a oneshot for RPM on Thursday, when I had about a day to do it. My choice of music while writing it made it a bit...fluffier than I originally intended.**

 **It's set a few months after the shields go up.**

 **Enjoy, and have a lovely Christmas and Happy New Year!**

* * *

RPM: Hope

"Whoa!" Teddie gasped and yanked the controls back, and her Swan Jet angled up, avoiding the Megazord as it stumbled into her flight path.

"Sorry lass!" Flynn called as the Megazord recovered.

"This wouldn't happen if I could be part of the combination," the White RPM Ranger complained as she flew higher and shot in, firing blasts at the Attackbot in the city.

"Or maybe you could just watch out?" Scott retorted.

"Or maybe you guys could get hit less?" Teddie bit back, making him grin. Flynn chuckled, and Summer rolled her eyes, but was smiling in amusement.

' _For the last time, Ranger White_ ,' the altered voice of their mysterious mentor, Doctor K, came through the intercom. ' _The power of the Swan Jet is too different to the original three Zords, to combine them could cause catastrophic failure in all the Zords which would render us defenceless against Venjix. Your Zord is designed to work with the Shark and Wolf Zords,_ ' Dr. K explained as the Megazord dove out of the way of another attack.

"I get it Doc, thanks!" Teddie sighed.

' _And_ stop _calling me Doc_!' the White Ranger smirked very slightly under her helmet, not responding.

"Teddie, go for November formation!" Scott ordered.

"We have too many formations," Teddie replied, but flew in close to the Attackbot, easily avoiding it as swatted at her. She then fired several blasts that hit the Attackbot in what seemed to be its face, and she increased her speed, flying out of the way.

"Super Sabre!" the Megazord rushed in before the robot could recover, and with a powerful slash, they finished it off.

"Target neutralised," Scott reported with a proud smile. Teddie sighed, looking down at her controls.

"Monster extinct," she murmured to herself.

* * *

None of the four Rangers spoke much on the walk back to the Garage. The loudest sound was the crunching of snow beneath their feet, as the began to set for the day.

"Have any of you got plans for tomorrow?" Summer asked, breaking the silence after a while.

"Not really. Dad's working," Scott shook his head. "You?" he asked the Yellow Ranger, who shook her head.

"No," her voice was soft and her eyes on the ground. Scott didn't push it.

"I'll probably go visit my dad. Make sure he's getting enough to eat, he's terrible for forgetting when he's working on something," Flynn chuckled. "How about you Teddie?" he glanced to his side, only to find that Teddie wasn't there. "Ted?" he called, looking around.

"Check it! Someone made a snow-Ranger!" Teddie called, waving them over. The air seemed to immediately brighten for the Rangers, who grinned and walked over to check it out. "It's clearly Scott," she grinned.

"No way, I'm not that short," Scott argued as he examined the snowman. "I think it's Flynn," he said to the Blue Ranger.

"Oh aye? I'm not that bulky," Flynn complained as Teddie giggled. Summer took a closer look, and a smirk spread across her face.

"I believe I've ID'd our mystery Ranger," she lifted a fallen red scarf from behind it. Scott groaned and Flynn let out a small cheer.

"Great, thanks," Scott glared at the snowman, as it was the creation's doing. Summer returned the red scarf to around the neck of the snowman, and they started walking again.

"Do you guys wonder how the weather works?" Teddie asked as she looked down at the snow crunching under her boots.

"Not really," Scott shook his head. Teddie blew a raspberry.

"Boring," she told him.

"No, I just have more important things to think about," the Red Ranger retorted. "You should try it, maybe it'll help you be on time for training," he told her. Teddie stuck her tongue out again. She then looked up at the sparkling lights that had been trailed through the leafless trees. They shone brightly in the poor light of the afternoon.

"You ever think we'll get out of here?" she asked in a softer tone this time, not looking at the other three.

"I hope so," Summer nodded.

"We just have to finish off Venjix," Flynn said, and Teddie smiled slightly. It sounded both impossible and possible at the same time. Teddie had faced the impossible before and come out victorious, but then again, Sledge and the others hadn't succeeded in wiping out most of the planet.

"We'll do it," she said with such determination that the others believed it.

"Aye," Flynn agreed with her, and grinned. "Then road trip, eh?" he suggested, nudging the White Ranger.

"What's left out there?" Scott shrugged, not sounding as optimistic. Summer frowned at him as both Flynn and Teddie's smiles fell.

"Freedom," Teddie answered quietly.

* * *

A cold wind ripped through the air, making Nora shiver and pull her coat closer around her.

"I don't get it," she hissed to herself as she fought against her shivering to continue walking. "How can it look like a desert, but still be so damn cold?" the girl complained. She looked up at the sky, which was a darker shade of the yellow it was during the day, as the sun began to set behind the hills in the distance.

Sighing, Nora made her way towards a small group of cars, which had long been stripped of anything useful. Not that she was looking for loot. Just shelter from the Grinders.

As she approached it, her head lifted as a beeping noise reached her ears. She swore, looking around, and found Grinders approaching from all directions. "Okay, you damn machines want me?" Nora called confidently, her hood falling to reveal her face. She drew her sword from her side. "Come and get me!" she challenged. The Grinders rushed in, only to be cut apart by the long sword she carried. Moving easily despite the weight of the weapon, Nora performed well-practised swings, deflecting an attack and kicking the Grinder back. She then stepped away from them, holding up her free hand as she began to speak in a strange language.

The area immediately rose in temperature, and Nora's eyes blazed as flames sparked to life from nowhere, surrounding the Grinders and destroying them, causing the lifeless chassis' to collapse to the ground around her. Nora spat at one and kicked it, before continuing on.

She was exhausted by the time she reached the small shelter, barely able to conjure a small fire so she wouldn't freeze to death, and a cloaking spell that would hide her and the light from any more of Venjix's creations. Nora slumped down beside it, warming herself up as much as possible. With her fire magic, she hated the cold. But beggars couldn't be choosers, and she had to survive.

Nora pulled a small piece of paper from her pocket, and looked at the engraving scratched into the side of one of the cars she was hidden amongst. She was headed in the right direction alright. A small determined smile showed on her face.

She _would_ get to Corinth. Venjix be dammed.

* * *

Arianna gazed up at the lights entwined around the trees of the park, lighting up the area in the snow and giving it a festive look that she still wasn't used to.

"Enjoying the view?" she looked around and smiled as Philip approached, handing her a hot drink that warmed her hands through the gloves she wore.

"Earth has such amazing traditions," Arianna commented, looking up at the lights again as she took a drink, enjoying the chocolate taste that warmed her inside.

"They're just lights," Philip commented, tilting his head slightly as he tried to understand what had amazed her so much.

"It's not just the lights," Arianna laughed softly, shaking her head. "It's the feeling they give, even now," she explained, turning to him properly. "That even now, we can have some happy times," Philip smiled back at her. "Mercuria never had anything like this," she commented.

"Do you miss it?" Philip asked her as they walked through the park.

"Honestly, yes, but I know I'm not the only one to miss their home," Arianna admitted.

"You know, you are allowed to be selfish once in a while," the former Prince commented. Arianna rolled her eyes in good nature at his teasing.

"Yes, I miss Mercuria. But if I left, I would miss Earth more," Arianna confessed with a sigh that fogged up the air around her. "My dad sent me here to learn the same lessons he did, but I think I've grown more attached than he did. I don't think I could ever bring myself to leave Earth for long, even if I could," she looked up at Philip, the underlying meaning in her words obvious to him. Pink tinged his face where the cold hadn't already bitten at him.

"What about becoming an Emergency Responder?" he asked her quietly.

"I believe Earth has those too," Arianna didn't move as he drew closer to her, both having stopped walking. "And considering the times we're in, they're in high demand," she added.

"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that," Philip's gloved hand warmed her face as he leaned in. Arianna laughed.

"I assumed you had already figured that out," she teased, pushing up, but as they kissed, a snowball hit Philip from behind. He jumped, and looked around in alarm to see a couple of kids who'd been playing rushing off. Arianna started to laugh, putting a hand to her mouth.

"You find that funny?" Philip asked her, stepping away, and her laughter faded.

"Oh Philip, no!" she gasped, unable to dodge the small snowball that hit her in the chest. She set down her drink, and stooped to grab a handful of snow as well. She squealed as more snow hit her, and the two began to toss as much snow at each other as they could.

"Good to see people are enjoying themselves," Ryan commented as he glanced over at the pair.

"Yeah, it's good," Jeremy nodded as they walked along. His hands were shoved in his pockets and his sunglasses hid his eyes even now. "What about you? Enjoying the festivities?" the former Silver Ranger asked.

"I'd enjoy them more if you were a cute girl," Ryan snorted.

"You don't think I'm cute?" Jeremy asked mildly.

"Don't go there," Jeremy smirked at Ryan's answer. "Just saying, there's a real couple feeling around here," Ryan looked around at the few people who had braved the cold after the attack in the city only a few hours ago.

"Yeah, I took Cassie to something like this last year, when she visited Ocean Bluff," Jeremy confessed. Ryan glanced to him, looking wary, but Jeremy was smiling.

"How do you do it?" Jeremy looked at the dark haired young man, confused. "Smile like that. You lost the girl of your dreams, you lost more than me," Ryan pointed out, looking baffled. "I know you guys feel guilty about losing your powers before Venjix hit. So how..."

"Because of what Teddie _and_ Cassie told me," Ryan's brow furrowed as Jeremy shrugged. "After the whole thing with Kerberos and the Dark Energem, I had a hard time, you know what I mean," Jeremy said, and Ryan didn't speak, knowing exactly what he meant. "Hell, Teddie got hurt defending me and I basically said she deserved it for getting involved," he shrugged.

"No wonder Chase punched you," Ryan commented.

"Yeah," Jeremy laughed, a hand on his jaw as he recalled it. "But I almost messed things up with Cassie before I even had a chance with her, I nearly fell back into that darkness, but Teddie told me to focus on the positive," Jeremy continued. "And then Cassie told me that, to show that she'd seen us in battle," he chuckled.

"The women we know are pretty pushy," Ryan said, looking up as snow began to fall again.

"You mean Teddie. Teddie is pushy," Jeremy corrected, and Ryan laughed.

"That's for sure. Hey, my mum's doing a small show, you wanna check it out?" he asked, and Jeremy nodded, grinning.

* * *

"I'm just saying, the requirements for the Ranger Black suit are crazy high," Teddie said to Scott as she looked over the information on the tablet. "I don't think _anyone_ could handle it," she frowned.

"We'll have to find someone if Venjix keeps evolving," Summer pointed out.

"Good luck with that," Flynn snorted, having seen the requirements himself.

"Why _do_ all the suits have different requirements?" Teddie wondered as she looked over the other suit demands.

' _Each suit has it's own unique power. The user must be able to both control and handle that power_ ,' Dr. K spoke up. ' _You four not only showed the sort of attitudes necessary, but you also fit the requirements for each of your suits_ ,' the four couldn't help but smile, proud of that.

"And the Series Green suit?" Teddie glanced down. "It's kinda similar to mine," she commented.

' _The Series Green suit requires a user much like Series White, for resilience to withstand the teleportation ability_ ,' Dr. K explained. ' _Series White needed more durability and stamina for the explosive burst of energy the suit emits, while Series Green needs a more focused being to successfully use the powers_ ,' the group looked at each other blankly.

"Wait, so Teddie fit the criteria?" Scott snorted.

"Rude," Teddie arched an eyebrow.

' _Operator Series White demonstrated unusually high traits in all aspects_ ,' Dr. K's short and vague reply made Teddie pause, and look down at the tablet again, her expression oddly pensive.

"So in other words, Teddie's just weird," Scott summed up with a smirk.

"Hah," Teddie gave a flat laugh and looked up. "You have no idea," she told him before her eyes went to the clock. "Crap! Late!" she yelped, jumping up and running off. "Back later!" she shouted as she grabbed her jacket and pulled it on, along with the scarf left beside it.

"Where are you going?" Flynn asked, watching her.

"Out!" was Teddie's vague answer before she disappeared out into the snow.

"I guess she was right about us not having any idea of how weird she really was. Wonder what that was all about," Scott wondered.

"Maybe she's got a boyfriend," Summer considered.

"Teddie? No way," Scott laughed as Flynn also looked amused at the idea. "We'd know about it by now if she did," he insisted as Summer looked doubtful.

"You sure about that? I mean what do we really know about her?" Summer challenged them. Their smiles faded a little, before Scott shook his head.

"No way," he refused to believe it.

"I'll bet you on it," Summer smiled, her eyes glimmering. Scott laughed again.

"You're on," he shook her hand.

"Aye, I'll get in on this too," Flynn spoke, and shook Summer's hand too. She then lifted the tablet, and left them to it.

* * *

The air misted in front of Heckyl's face as he sat out in the cold, reading a book and ignoring the passers-by as he waited. He shivered, not enjoying the cold of the evening.

His gaze sharpened suddenly, and he caught the hands reaching for him from behind.

"How do you always know?" Teddie complained.

"I'm always aware when you're around," Heckyl answered, pulling her arm down and checking her watch. "I'm not even surprised," he commented as Teddie blushed.

"We were looking over the requirements for Series Black and Green, I lost track of time, I'm sorry," Teddie moved, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her cheek to his.

"Ah yes, the hunt for the remainder of your team. A bit smaller than the last," Heckyl commented.

"I didn't make the Energems," Teddie pouted as she let him go, and he stood, turning to her.

"You would probably have more," Heckyl considered.

"Stop!" Teddie whined, and he caught her hands as she pushed him. His gaze then went to the blue scarf she wore, and his eyebrow rose.

"I was wondering where this went," he commented, pulling at it and drawing her close.

"I have no clue what you're talking about," Teddie answered innocently, but was grinning. He pulled it again, leaning in as he did, and Teddie pushed up on the balls of her feet to kiss him. As they separated, Teddie pouted.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she said again, and he reached up and put a hand over her face.

"You said that, stop," he told her, making Teddie giggle, grabbing at his hand as she tried to pull away.

"Okay, okay," she giggled. "Come on, you're freezing," he finally let her go, and she took his hand.

"Of course I'm freezing, in a climate controlled city, you insist on making it miserably cold just so there's snow," Heckyl rolled his eyes.

"Hey, the snow is awesome!" Teddie argued as they walked.

"For children," Heckyl sniffed.

" _I_ like it," Teddie insisted. Heckyl glanced to her, and his smirk answered her. "Jerk," she pouted.

"Not helping your case," he commented. "How was the fight?" he asked as her pout grew.

"Fine, nothing special really," Teddie shrugged. "I'm surprised Venjix hasn't run out of strategies yet, but I suppose that can be said for all the bad guys," she giggled.

"I hope that isn't aimed at me," Heckyl looked at her, watching her mischievous smile.

"What? No," Teddie looked innocent. "I mean, there _were_ times that it seemed like you'd just gotten bored," she shrugged.

"First of all, you try sharing headspace with Snide," Heckyl caught her, making her stop. "His plans were all brute force and-"

"Worked as well as your plans did," Teddie teased.

"You are not making up for being late," he told her, his face flushing at her teasing. She knew he prided himself on being far more intelligent than his other self had been. Giggling at this point, Teddie reached up and pulled him close, but didn't close the gap.

"You just make it too easy," she told him quietly, the air misting between them. Her smile then turned softer as he brushed her hair from her face. "Heckyl, I..." Teddie paused, her smile fading as her expression turned nervous.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I love you," he drew back, startled by her sudden confession out of the blue. Teddie watched him, a little wary. "I just...I didn't want..I'm sorry, I just didn't want to tell you at some super dramatic moment where I might not make it out or something, I-" she was cut off from her rambling when he kissed her hard. Teddie stumbled, a little surprised, and he caught her, pulling her close as she kissed him back.

"I love you too," he murmured as he drew back, and glanced away as she smiled brightly at him, his face mottling red. "Now can we please go somewhere warm? I'd rather not have hypothermia," Heckyl complained, and Teddie laughed.

"Sure, sure," she took his hand and pulled him along as the snow grew heavier.

* * *

 **A lot fluffier than I originally planned.**


End file.
